Belzec: The Forgotten Camp

Not much is known about Belzec, where as many as one million Jews perished. No one survived to tell.

I wanted to go to Belzec (pronounced Biwzhets) because no one really does. One million Jews died there in the span of nine months – and hardly anyone knows about it. I felt it was a pilgrimage to a holy site: the second largest (after Treblinka) Jewish graveyard in history.

Mike Tregenza was my guide. He is a non-Jewish, English historian who lectures at Lublin university. According to Sir Martin Gilbert, he is the world expert on Belzec.

Belzec is a sleepy little hamlet in southeast Poland. A few thousand people live there. All seem to be related in some way. We stopped for a drink in a bar and the natives seemed unfriendly enough. All in all, it’s a pretty innocuous place. One would never guess that of the million Jews who arrived there in 1942, only two survived.

Mike told me that he interviewed the station-master who worked at Belzec during the war. On every cattle car that arrived, there was written a number; the number of "pieces" (as the Germans would say) contained therein. He kept a tally. When he reached seven figures, he could no longer continue.

Belzec was a part of "Operation Reinhardt." Its purpose, which was accomplished, was to destroy the Jewish communities of Eastern Poland – specifically the main centers of Warsaw, Lublin, Cracow and Lvov.

Operation Reinhardt began in March 1942 with the construction of Belzec and ended in August 1943 with the destruction of Treblinka. It utilised three camps: Treblinka in the north, Sobibor and Belzec in the south. It was masterminded by Sturmbahnfuhrer Christian Wirth and Belzec was his prototype " his baby.

Most Deadly

Of all the camps in the Holocaust, Belzec was the most deadly. If a person went there, he was not coming back. There are Auschwitz survivors, Mathausen survivors, even Treblinka and Sobibor survivors. One will never meet a Belzec survivor. As such, relatively little is known of what went on inside the camp. Mike, though, with extensive research, can piece together a picture.

The turnover time for getting 3,000 human beings to ashes was about 2-3 hours. It took a little more time to sort the clothes and valuables, clean the trains and send them back loaded with goodies. Six thousand a day was probably its maximum capacity.

As Mike explained, once a person arrived in Belzec, he would have wished he was in Dante’s inferno. Guns and dogs, undress, run naked up a steep hill flanked by Ukranians with whips, sticks and swords, pushed into a small chamber by the weight of people behind, doors closed, gas…

That was if he was lucky.

In many instances, the engines, which produced the gas, broke down. There were times when people waited hours upon hours cramped like sardines into a gas chamber until the engines could be fixed and they could be gassed. Even Rudolf Hoess (the erstwhile criminal who became kommondant of Auschwitz) was horrified by the methods used. It was, in his words, "inhumane."

Mike told me that 12 SS men and some Ukranian auxiliaries staffed Belzec. It was a shocking and horrifying thought: 12 SS men could murder a million Jews.

The Germans destroyed Belzec when they left and planted a forest instead. They wanted to cover up what had happened and, unfortunately, they did an excellent job. To the undiscerning eye, absolutely nothing remains. It is a broken railroad track that ends in a road up to a forest. There is a small, dilapidated memorial containing some bones and ashes (which is regularly vandalised by Poles searching for "Jewish gold"). It is overgrown and unkempt.

On the surface, there is nothing to indicate what happened here less than 60 years ago.

But then Mike bent down and picked up some small white and black fragments from the ground. I thought them to be small stones. I looked more closely and was again horrified: they were human bones. Once we reached the mass burial pits, the fragments were everywhere. When I started to search, I found many complete bones, some from adults and some, quite clearly, from children. I found a whole set of teeth " with holes where the fillings had been.

Auschwitz/Birkenau is a major tourist attraction. Treblikna has a heart-wrenching memorial. But at Belzec, there are only bones. It’s a quiet spot, in a pretty forest. And if you spent a few years there, you might just be able to pick them all up. But what touched me most deeply about Belzec, and continues to do so, was its loneliness. It is a forgotten camp. So few people visit. The first tragedy is that so many died here. But the more immediate tragedy is that nobody really seems to care.

Featured at Aish.com:

About the Author

Shaul Rosenblatt grew up in Liverpool. He studied for his smicha at Aish Hatorah in Jerusalem where he met his first wife Elana a"h who passed away in 2001 after a long struggle with cancer. They had four children together and Shaul has a further four with his second wife Chana, who he married in 2003. Shaul is the author of Finding Light in the Darkness, published by Targum Press, about facing life challenges with strength and faith. Shaul founded Aish UK in 1993 and Tikun UK in 2006. Tikun is based in London and focuses on teaching personal wellbeing and meaningful Judaism. Tikun.co.uk. Shaul enjoys almost everything in life.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 149

(144)
Sammish,
December 5, 2016 4:03 PM

Lanzmann's Belzec documentary

Claude Lanzmann (beside his masterpiece Shoah) did produced an equally powerful documentary called simply "Belzec". It is a 3 hour film account of the death camp's inception, running and horrors. It also deals with how the SS ran this camp, how they tried to conceal it after it was dismantled. The documentary is set up similarly as Shoah (with actual interviews of those ugly polish farmers who helped build the camp and one surviving girl who hid outside the camp for 2 years (now elderly). Of course, Lanzmann cinematography of the places surrounding the camp with the villages, hamlets, train stations, forests as well as the powerfully railway visuals leave the viewer reflective of the horrors of anti-Semitism. Furthermore, it is masterfully narrated. The first minute narration of an incredible reading of a letter left by one deportee is so sad and incredibly unforgettable moment with film shots of empty towns and shtetls. I would recommend this documentary for a reflection on Yom HaShoah and remembrance of those innocent Jewish lives who were murdered there.

(143)
Sharona Ehrlich,
December 4, 2016 5:05 PM

Read the book "The Last Jews of Lwow"

My Mother's family perished there. She wrote a thorough account of the history of the Jewish community of Lwow, in particular those harrowing last years, in a book titled "The Last Jews of Lwow" by Tiqva Nathan. There is a description of how the Jews of the time found out about Belzec, where the trains were going, from their own accounts of their experiences. And how hard it was for them to accept such a place existed.

(142)
becci,
November 8, 2016 10:34 AM

belzec

hi there i really want to visit the forests burial places when i visit next week where are they please

(141)
Patrick Dempsey,
February 26, 2016 12:25 AM

Blezec

We cannot do Justice to the memory of those 600,000 Jews Murdered here. Please do not over inflate the account as we attempt o come to terms with the accuracy required for History to acknowledge. I too have been to Belzec. I too am appalled that this could happen to innocent People. But we must know that the atrocity committed cannot be altered by inference of a greater statistical analysis!

October 28, 1942, my aunt, Golda Katz's 40th birthday.She and me cousins Chana (14) , Regina (12), Gusta and Rachel board the train in Komionka Strumolawa, bound for Blezec. Some boys manage to remove the barbed wire from the small window. Some people jump. Gusta jumps. Golda tells Rachel to jump because Gusta won't survive without her. Rachel jumps leaving her mother and two younger sisters, who are murdered in Blezec. Rachel wanders in the forest, winds up back at the railroad tracks, sees the train leave , doors open, empty. She reunites with Gusta in Rava Ruska, but they don't stay there. Later a polish neighbour hides them and they survive the war.(this is the short version).1994, Rachel has a video made of her, telling the story.

Patrick Dempsey,
February 26, 2016 12:29 AM

Knowledge of Belzec

I would be interested to see the Video and know more of Golda Katz's story!

www.auschwitz.padraigh.co.uk

www.padraigh.co.uk

(138)
colin cane,
December 10, 2014 3:24 PM

death camps

i am church of england,and all through my life i still cannot to this day understand why a small group of men and women could murder people on an industrial scale and go home at night,and act as if nothing happened during the shift that they had worked,the other thing is,it was all for nothing

Anonymous,
February 26, 2016 12:33 AM

Blezec was not for Nothing.

If we learn the lessons of Belzec, if we Remember that 600,000 Jews were Murdered here! If we can deliver to posterity a message of Tolerance which will prevent any future Genocide's! We will have learned something and these Jewish lives will not be Forgotten as a positive lesson which should have ensured not one Jew had been Murdered let alone 6,000,000 Jews of The Holocaust.

(137)
Esther Gleicher Weiner,
January 9, 2014 3:16 AM

My grandmother died there

My paternal grandmother, Esther Neustein Gleicher z"l, was murdered there. I'm named for her and for my father's sister. There is a Belzec exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois. If anyone visits or lives in the Chicago area, it's very worthwhile to go there.

Anonymous,
February 26, 2016 12:36 AM

Esther at Belzec

It is always a tragedy that we hear of such personal accounts. I hope the Belzec Museum and YadVashem have recorded Esther Neustein Gleicher as having been taken from us.l

(136)
don,
November 11, 2013 4:57 PM

God forgive us.

Anonymous,
February 26, 2016 12:38 AM

We cannot Forgive

Only those of the 6,000,000 have the right to Forgive what was done to them. They cannot utter their forgiveness. Their ability to accept any apology was taken from them.

(135)
james ainoris,
June 24, 2013 6:58 PM

People must remmember that after evil nazi s were defeated and some arrested...locals in many european countries continued hatred and violence against us...so much so that we had to be put back in displaced persons camps for our protection.Now it seems to be starting up again in evil europe....not just arab immigrants. The new Pope should tour all these countries and warn the locals not to get involved with any hate groups...2000 yrs of christian antisemitism is not easy to erase. Poland profits from auschwitz tourism and shopping centers around berkenau....All of us should go to Israel orAmerica. Hopefully Moschiach arrives speedily in our day...BH.

(134)
Aviva P.,
April 29, 2013 2:15 PM

How long ago was this written? The author's depiction of the Belzec memorial is incorrect. There is a decent memorial there now...and a museum. I visted there two years ago. Wrote a poem about it, in fact. The people who run the museum are trying to find out more about it. Clearly, somebody out there cares.

My maternal grandmother, and her 2 daughters and one grandson perished in Belzec when the ghetto in Ternopol was liquidated. A nobel Christian saved my mother from the same fate when she was hidden the night BEFORE the liquidation. I am my grandmother's namesake and have comitted myself to live my life to its fullest. Grandma Ann, you have granchildren and great grandchildren and even great-great grandchildren living in ISRAEL.

(132)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:56 AM

I visited Belzec in October 2012. May we never forget those who perished in this soul-wrenching place. Belzec entered the very epitome of my human soul when I saw it. I felt that the earth cannot conceal them. They are there. . . Thanks for the article.

(131)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:56 AM

I am going there

My daughter and I are going to Poland to visit Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzec---as well as Majdanek and Auschwitz. This trip was in part motivated by this article. I know it has a modernized memorial, but I had never heard of the place until not that long ago. We want to be where so many suffered and died, and cry and remember so that in our daily lives we fight so that things like this can never happen again.

(130)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:54 AM

Only two?

Who were the two survivors?? How did they survive?? Why was that not given in the article?? What a terrible place........Jews need to go there to bury the bones!
Harlee, May 3, 2011 6:59 PM
names of survivors
Rudolf Reder and Chaim Hirszman. Rudolf Reder worked at digging mass graves and dragging bodies to the pits. He was called the oven specialist after the motor producing the carbon monoxide broke down. At the end of November 1942 he was ordered to Lvov, by Jirman, to pick up sheet metal in a truck. His sole guard fell asleep and he was able to escape into Legionow Street, as darkness fell. Chaim Hirszman was deported from Zaklikow, with his wife and six month old son. They both died at Belzec. He escaped from the last train out of Belzec after the camp was dismantled. In route to Sobibor, Chaim and two other prisoners- one called Herc, decided to escape from the train by removing a plank from the cattle cars floor. He jumped first; the other two were to jump after him. He succeeded in escaping and later joined the partisans. He survived the war, and his experiences were recorded by his second wife Pola. Chaim was killed by Polish anti-semites, in 1946, after giving evidence in Lublin.

(129)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:52 AM

I am one of the people who had never heard of Belzec!!

The story of Belzec, is, as it is with all the death camps, horrific. But I could not fully agree with Rabbi Rosenblatt's final line, when he said that 'the immediate tragedy is that nobody really seems to care.' I am not a Jew, but I care, And I am sure that there are many thousands of others that also care. I cannot change history or the evil that was done, but I can weep for it.

(128)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:52 AM

very, very ,very sad. Need to know more

(127)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:51 AM

So many unheard cries for mercy and none was shown !

Christian Wirth was an animal. He had a few nick names, one was "savage Christian". He was even feared by some of his staff. Yet he escaped justice and died in Yugoslavia fighting partisans. He should have been hung which would havbe been more humane than he showed to the thosands of men, women and children who came into his life.

(126)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:50 AM

I knew about the existance of belzec

however never that 1 million were gassed in 9 M and only 2 survivors . Yes hell on earth Being a child survivor from Holland only one from the family,it just never seems to end .for my generation the sorrow

(125)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:50 AM

yes, its easier to forget than to awaken ones conscience

(124)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:49 AM

Bring them home.

When each and every Jew goes to Belzac, a cold and lonely place where so many died, starving, in total fear and too weak to fight back or really care, these people deserve better than to remain partially buried againest their will. We need to commision reburial organization and bring these and bring these people back to Israel for a proper Jewish burial.

(123)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:49 AM

I only have heard Belzec mentioned once before. I thought it was a city not a death camp. Aside from killing people Auschwitz was a giant chemical factory owned by an IG Farben the maker of chlorine gas nerve gas and the ABORTION BILL ( its subsiduaries anyway) let us not forget the AIDS tainted blood from Bayer also an IG farben branch off that one killed thousands of hemophiliacs and those with similar conditions.

(122)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:48 AM

i would like to visit

i;m facinated about this topic and i guess i'm one of the few who does care keep up the good work

(121)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:47 AM

belzec

this really is a great article to read.

(120)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:47 AM

Truly sad but very compelling.

(119)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:46 AM

Thank you

I would like to thank you for bringing awareness to a camp I had never even heard of. May it never be forgotten.

(118)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:46 AM

tellimg the way of going

This is a very good article to me because it really just catched my eye. MOst people dont really like learning about our past history but ido i just want to show my love to those we lost beacuase of harsd reasons.

(117)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:45 AM

In October 1942, my father, Victor Lezerkeiwicz (later Lewis), was herded onto a transport from Krakow bound for Belzec, along with his mother, father, sister, and brother. My maternal grandmother and her 2 daughters (my aunts) were in the same cattle car. WIth keen foresight and bravery, my father used a hack saw blade which he had hidden in his boot to saw the bars off the cattle car window, and though all his immediate family members with the exception of his brother decided not to follow...he jumped from the train with his brother and a 14 year old boy jumoed after them. They were the only 3 survivors from that transport that we know of. Everyone was murdered at the end of the line. My Mom & Dad lost all their immediate family members that terrible day, save my uncle Leszek. They survived certain death at Belzec, and all 3 lived long and fruitful lives after the war. What an experience to have to make peace with !

(116)
Sue Rutherford,
August 5, 2012 7:45 AM

I would also like to commemorate my grandparents,Leah (Laura)and Srul (Isador), and other Zigman family members: Regina, Willi, Ernst, Edith and Rosie, who were transported from Vienna in June 1942 to Izbica and ultimately Belzec. My mother and aunt were fortunate enough to obtain visas for England. Upon my mother's death at 89, I have only just gained access to my grandmother's precious last letters, penned in beautiful, Gothic handwriting. Through their translation, I have been fortunate to get to know my grandma and in a way, it is comforting to know that a 'forest of the trees of life' now exists in place of the death camp. Regards Sue Rutherford - Laureen Hart and Chantal Ghozland.

(115)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:44 AM

I read this story for a school project too and its terrible that all of these people aren't remembered. I've seen pictures of a memorial for Belzec so I'm not really sure what to rely on, but either way that's a sad story. The camp would have been remembered much more had it been liberated and seen by the world like most of the other camps, but at the same time, more people would have had to die for that to happen.

(114)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:41 AM

In honour of my Austrian Grandparents

I have only recently found that those who were transported from Vienna in 1942 to Izbica/Lublin ended up in Belsec. I have never heard of it - and I had assumed that my aunt and grandparents ended their lives in Auschwitz. My father escaped to England where he lived to old age, dying there in 2004. He never wanted to know the final outcome of his parents but for me it has always been important to know. One of our relatives did some research and found out that they had been taken from Vienna to Izbica and she has now furnished me with this latest piece of information. Even though it is upsetting to know that they were forgotten in Poland they are to be commemorated in Vienna in May. Thanks you for the interesting article about Belsec - saddening though it is. Regards Carole Needham

(113)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:40 AM

i also have to thank the author for putting this on here. i did not know anything bout it. i havnt even heard of it till my teacher gave me a paper and told me to do a report on it. i think it is very sad that this death camp is forgotten. it breaks my heart to think bout all those ppl dying nd no1 caring. all i have to say now is wow..

(112)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:40 AM

this story was amazing. i am doing a progect on belzec and i did not know how unknown of it was. this story made me cry.

(111)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:40 AM

wow, im only 14 and i im doing a report on ww2 and all major events, this story about belzec and all the lives that were forgotten there was just like bumping into a wall and realizing how people dont even care, i have to put belzec on my rport to show people and have thm realize what happend there, i thank the author for this story.

(110)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:39 AM

Belzec

I was heartened to read the authors comments on Belzec. I agree that this camp seems to be lost from peoples thoughts. I had the privilage of visiting Belzec last year. It is completly different to some of the camps I visited in Poland.You are struc with the feelings of loss, anger and disbelief about what happend there. One is left (as at Auschwitz) with a sense of a soul-less place that will forever be remembered as a place where humanity reached the dregs of human deprevation.

(109)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:39 AM

Read "After Long Silence"

I found this book about a family from Lvov. This story is important to read. I had never heard of a death camp in Belzec until now. There are so many stories that will never be heard, but we can at least remember what happened and learn from this horrible tragedy.

(108)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:38 AM

very good story made me cry

(107)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:38 AM

2 men survived Belzec

2 men survived Belzec.Rudolf Reder left an account in Polish.He died in 1954.Chaim Hirszman was lynched by anti - Semites in 1946 in Poland after giving evidence at a trial of former Belzec guards.

(106)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:37 AM

Listen to the Winds of the Past

What is this life? Either learn from the past or repeat it...The time of the Holocaustwas a tragic time. This new information I just learned about Belzec is disturbing. Around 1.1 million people were killed in Auschwitz and just about the same amount were killed here. A memorial should be held in honor of these people not just in Belzec but in Germany. There have been many around the world I am aware but one that is world wide one that children can see what this world has come to. People still a times deny the Holocaust ever happened but once innocence is lost you can see the world for what it has truly become. There are so many beautiful things in this world like childrens eyes. Tell the world about this Tragic time so we may learn, benefit,and maybe just listen to what the past has to say in its winds across shores.

Thank you for the essay. My entire family. on both sides, perished in the Holocaust, most of them in Belzec.
Would you please let the Jewish Genealogy Organization (or another group) publish your article so more people would read about it?
Respectfully,
JYZ

(103)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:36 AM

I am an Indian and have been reading about the cruelties of Hitler and his accomplices, including Himmler, haydreich and Euichmenn...Terrible people not meant to be even called humans. Its very disturbin to knw how man can be with outmost power, just an animal , infact animals would have been better than them ...I agree that now normally hardly any one cares as to what happened in the history but people need to be made aware of such happenings.They need to know how Jews and non Jews were murdered and tortured. Most of the survivors must be really old by now and in years to come we wont have any left ...We must make an effort to get to know all about their experiences. I would love to take part in events where we could meet the survivors and get to know their stories and write about them and let the world know about the tragedies. Unfortunately in India hardly coomon man in aware of such happenings as at that time Indians were fighting for own Independence.
For all the families who suffrered, the rescuers, the victims, and the survivors , May God Bless their Souls and them .

(102)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:35 AM

KURT FRANZ SCRAPBOOK ON TREBLINKA.

has this full book ever been put on the
net to view?THIS s book covers all the
known activities of the camp.kow would
one go about getting a look at it?

(101)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:35 AM

Kol ha'kavod on your initiative!

It is hard to grasp the harshness of the past reality: How many died there?
The tragedy of the quietness that lurks there today is even more disturbing...
I saw a French documentary movie about Belzec on an Israeli TV channel with the story of Bracha Beer who was hidden for a long period by Julia Pepiak nearby and thus avoided death in the camp...
All that is known today seems but a drop in the ocean..
Yes, I agree with you: "...the more immediate tragedy is that nobody really seems to care."

(100)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:34 AM

Belzec

Is it true that all Jews from Nowy Sacz ( Sanz ) were brought & killed here and not in Aushwitz. Many of my family from Sanz perished during the war. I was deported with my family to Russia.

(99)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:34 AM

Grandfather's family

My grandfather's family was wiped out in Belzec in 1942. So they would not be forgotten I posted their names on the memorial page for Belzec.

(98)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:33 AM

Belzec new Museum

I'm 27 yo old Polish male (sorry for my English). Now living in London. I was in Belzec many times. Part of my uncle family live there. I've known about Belzec concetration camp form my childhood. My parents and local people always sad me about this sad and bad times for Jewes ( Polish too) people during WW2.
I have to write here that is not true you wrote that Belzec camp is forgotten.
Now in Belzec in this place is new, big museum with many pictures, photos, video relations, video interviews. It's open from 2004. We could open this museum after bad comunism times (1946-1989), you should know this. Poland is now free country and in EU so you can visit this place without any problems.
You can see some pictures from there on some polish websites, eg: [www.pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belzec]

(97)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:33 AM

incredible

I too have read as much on this camp as possible, and agree there just isn't that much information availiable to the public. These poor people may be gone but will never be forgotten by those of us who study the holocaust and how the world looked the other way.

(96)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:32 AM

Survivors

There was one survivor from Belzec

(95)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:32 AM

i hate this

omg is that mean or what?people can't just go aroung killing people all the time!!!even though i'm only in the sixth grade,, i know how to express my fellings thoght. even thogh i'm not a jew i hate hitler and ever other monster who was part of this!!!!!

(94)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:31 AM

I had relatives who were murdered in Belzec

My great grandfather, great aunt, and another great aunt and her child were murdered at Belzec. It is very painful for me to think about it.

(93)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:31 AM

Iwas in belzec about 4 years ago at that time the 33 mass graves were identified and srounded we were over a "minian" so we learend "mishnies" and said a "kadish" most probely the first time, we hope to live to the time wen hashem will do nakoma "al dom avudov hashuphock"

(92)
Djilda Faintuch,
August 5, 2012 7:30 AM

new memorial in Belzec

I went on a Bais Yaakov tour of Poland and many of the concentration camps during the summer of 2004. Now they have a new museum and big memorial in the place that Belzec was. Since there is nothing left of the actual camp, they filled the entire area with black rocks that symbolize the number of people who perished there. Needless to say, it was a very moving and emotional experience.

(91)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:29 AM

How many of my ancestors never left there?

My family came to America, Hagerstown, Md area, prior to 1752. Ostrow, Poland was as far back as they can be traced. How many were left behind to their fates in this area.

(90)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:29 AM

help the victims

Remembering is not enough...those bones must be gathered and buried in a proper jewish burial. What place is more appropriate then israel....

(89)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:29 AM

shocking in the extreme...I did not know

Have heard the name of camp many times, never realised that no-one escaped. Am deeply shocked and will find out more

(88)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:28 AM

A small field that will not be forgotten

This article was read to myself and 120 other 2005 March Of The Living participants, as we stood infront of the horrific site of Belzec. Although my thoughts and visions of Belzec are much the same as Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt, my image of this small patch of land is very different. The memorial that has been built over, whats is not left of, Belzec was more moving than the memorials at any of the other death camps that i visited on my trip. In spite of this it is still all to easy for me to imagine this camp being forgotten, as im sure the people still living literally across the road from Belzec did (and now still try to.) Now that you have read this article it is up to YOU to remember Belzec and the unimaginable things that happened there.

(87)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:27 AM

My experiance of Belzec

9 months ago, this past summer I was there. On my trip to Poland I saw and felt many things. One of them was Belzec. But my experiance of th ecamp are very different. Now, as of 10 months ago, there is a museum in Belzec. I don't remember much of that. But I do remember the quiet, the lonliness and the pounding of rain and heart alike. I was the first one to visit my familys gravesite. Now, unlike the discription here, there's a big mountain, like the ones in Majdanek and Sobibor, a mountain of human ashes. Belzec, was definitely one of the harder places for me.

(86)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:26 AM

i like this information

i realli like this page because it has a lot of information, about what i need.

(85)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:26 AM

Belzec: A Place Of Horror

Very good site! I have read about Belzec death camp from other books, but it is really hard to get good information about this place of horror. The part about the human bones scattered about the former grounds of the camp really jolted me in terror at just the thought of finding bones when they should have a proper burial is horrifying. I will never forget seeing human bones and ashes in the ovens at Theresienstadt concentration camp. I think its important for me to share my experiences touring concentartion camps with others to help keep the memory alive of those who were senselessly murdered out of hate. Thank you for doing your part for the sake of humanity and history and please check out my web site didicated to a survivor of the German resistance and was sentenced to two and half years between a concentration camp and a hard labor camp. Thanks and take care!
Greg McClelland

(84)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:25 AM

Belzec

Interesting contemporary summary of the operation Rheinard camp that was Christian Wirths training grond.If its not proprietary ,may I suggest you add at least a site reference to the Nizkor historical excavations there in 1998.This immensely sad but vital work (of which Mike Tregenza is intimately involved),is a devestating rebuttal of the denial mob because the evidence is still there.Perhaps a note on the perpetrators would be revealing as well.
Shalom!
D.Price

(83)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:24 AM

Very important!

There are so many articles about the "big" camps, that even people who did survive the holocaust are deniing the existens of other death-camps. So it is very important to read and learn about every death-camp with gas-chambers or other means of murder. It is so important to remember the victims that do not have a voice any more, and for certain no kaddisch. May their souls rest in peace in Gan Eden.

(82)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:24 AM

Belzec

I also went to Belzec in 1995. Mike Tregenza and Toivi(Thomas)Blatt where both my guide's. I and my wife also met the station-master. As I was walking in side the camp,you could see hundreds pieces of human boons sticking out of the sand.I tried too put some of them back, but could not do it. Those pieces where holy for me. I lost more than half of my Fam. and all my vriends in Sobibor, A other forgotten Camp. Thanks for not letting the world forget. Jerry Meents

(81)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:23 AM

Belzac

I have read alot of first person accounts where Belzac is a place that is feared, but not survived. You are right. Often overlooked, it is not recogonized easily like Auschwitz. However, I would not wish to see a museum or statue there, standing on the bones, cemented into them. Rather, leave it the way it is and let those who know travel and see the reality of it...not statues and symbols of Holocaust...but bones, ashes, Shoa. Thank you.

(80)
Anonymous,
August 5, 2012 7:23 AM

touching

This article was very sad! It helped on a history report though! I can't believe that someone could be so cruel as to kill these innocent lives! Thanks for the help on my report!!

(79)
Ashley,
August 5, 2012 7:22 AM

The" star" that change it all.

Hi!I'm in 8th grade I like to write about I feel and I feel right now very heartbroken.Why? Well, my class is reading "The dairy of Anne Frank." I already read the story but this time to me it tells a new story of what thoes Jews and helpers had to go through to surive or die just becuse of there belifes . The first time I read I was sad I realize that. That only happen a few years ago it still goes on today about different belifes but not in that terriable sitution they had to go through. I can't belive how ONE person could almost whip out a how race of people because of there belife. It is heart breaking but it the world we live in. The famous words of all time "CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG"!!!! I'M JUST A KID BUT I'M THE FUTURE. MAYBE MY GENRATION CAN CHANGE ALL OF THIS NEGATIVEITY.Well my time is up love peace and soul. love ya!

(78)
Anonymous,
November 12, 2011 9:54 PM

disgusting...

i think its horrible. how could ppl be so inhuman?? to murder ONE MILLION. its disgusting...
i think its important that ppl know about it though and im glad i read this article

(77)
Anonymous,
January 3, 2011 3:45 AM

holocaust!

O' the horror!

(76)
Ian,
October 31, 2007 9:19 PM

Also forgot that Rudolf Reder and Chaim Herszman escaped from the camp. Only Reder made it through the war and you can google to see his statement if your interested.

Maybe you could edit the article? I know that 2 is not a lot but it is some.

(75)
the man who REMEMBER,
December 5, 2005 12:00 AM

Yes that is Very Tragic that seams no one cares about the "Victims of Vernischtungs Lager Be³¿ec" ... finally the new Memorial was build ,but people only comes ,walks and leaves Be³¿ec without any understanding what were there happend . Are this people will ever knew about Christian Wirth and Lorenz Hackenholt and other Murders of Be³¿ec? Few maybe know ,and Few maybe will knew ,but what with rest ?... If people forgotten the history ,then history turns back ,like in 1995 in Srebrenica !.

REMEMBER NEVER FORGET the HOLOCAUST !!!

the man from south eastern Poland.

(74)
lisa hopkinson,
June 1, 2005 12:00 AM

response to Belzec

I cannont believe that the Jewish nation and the world in general allows bones of the murdered to lie in a place like Belzec. There could surely be a more appropiate memorial permantley errected to the memory of the dead.I as a none Jew would be prepared to donate these people deserve a blessed resting place.What message does it give to the world today that bones of the murdered are left to rot is that why life is still seen as cheap and genocide continues all over the world.

(73)
Sean,
April 1, 2005 12:00 AM

Its not that the people don't care..............

Its not that the people around Belzec don't care. Its that so many horrible things as we know went on there, and nobody can do anything about it. People just try to block it out and move on with their lives. Who knows, one could be mourning over the jews and getting depressed when all of a sudden they die. DON'T LIVE LIFE DEPRESSED, YOU AGE FASTER, WRINKLE EARLIER, AND DIE MISERABLY. MOVE ON PEOPLE!!!

(72)
Charlotte,
May 10, 2003 12:00 AM

Why?

I just want to say that I found the article by Rabbi Rosenblatt very moving. I was almost in tears. I am not Jewish but I still care about what happened to the Jewish people. I also think that more people need to know about it. Most people avoid the subject because it is such an awful thing to think about and they cant bear to think that a person could do something so inhumane. But the fact is that people did and we need to know about it to prevent it from happening again. So thankyou Rabbi,for telling the truth.

(71)
Tasha Lundquist,
April 25, 2002 12:00 AM

Surviors

If there are any surviours out there willing to write something to my daughter who is turning one soon i would apprecite it so much. I want the past down the knowledge to my child so that when she is older she will have witnessed witnesess. thank you.

(70)
Kaylin Guzman,
April 8, 2002 12:00 AM

I had know idea Belzec existed

I ahd know idea that the Belzec camp even existed. You always hear things about the other camps where people came back to tell their stories, but never had one word been mentioned to me about such a horrific place. And to think what those people were thinking when they found out they would never come back to tell thier story.

(69)
Anonymous,
October 4, 2001 12:00 AM

Thank you, Rabbi Rosenblatt

The too few who know of Belzec and the other five death camps, coupled with the growing number of revisionists, equals an unparalleled drive toward repeating history. May I suggest that Aish make Rabbi Rosenblatt's article available in many different venues?

Wounds heal, and emotional scars can be overcome, but lessons forgotten or never learned allow the causes of the wounds to linger. We must not forget what happened, because it is the ONLY thing we can do to give meaning to the beautiful people who were lost.

Many today decry "Jewish toughness." They are unaware of the history that has laid the framework for such assertiveness. Please, please, please -- if you read and digested this, read the Aish seminar on "Why the Jews?" It provides the rigorous intellectualism necessary to sustain the spiritual trust in God.

(68)
Anonymous,
August 1, 2001 12:00 AM

I Care

Thank you so much for your visit to Belzec and your article. I have been reading every book I can find on the Camps and the surviors storys. My life and the lives of my families are forever changed. Thank you, The Clem Family.

(67)
Anonymous,
May 7, 2001 12:00 AM

its a sad part of history

My class is studing the Holocost. I learn more each year we study this section and it makes me sad that people were like this. It wasnt right and it still isnt. I thank you for the info you have given me on this subject.

(66)
Alyssa,
May 1, 2001 12:00 AM

Totally Discusting

I'm just baffaled of how the Germans could even stand themselves for what they did.

(65)
Anonymous,
April 30, 2001 12:00 AM

How could people do such a thing

i am 11 years old and i am doing a report on the holocaust. i didn't realize what really went on there. But now i know. And i can't believe anyone could have that much hate towards others.

(64)
brianna morrison,
April 26, 2001 12:00 AM

My heart goes out to all

Hi,
I just wanted to say how sorry I am for those that had to go through such pain. I am 15 and I have lived through a lot and I know I couldn't have gone as long as the people did. My heart goes out to all who had to go through that.
Best wishes to you all.

(63)
Anonymous,
April 19, 2001 12:00 AM

This is a horrific event that occured.

They should pay more attention to the crimes against races and religion in places like the middle east right now, instead of focusing so much on the past. They should pay attention in the present, before that adds to the past events that have occurred. Don't repeat history again! It's not a pretty picture, and many innocent lives are lost for illegitimate reasons. ~Sarah~
You can e-mail me at sarah122386@hotmail.com...Thanks!

(62)
Anonymous,
April 15, 2001 12:00 AM

Roots

I am a seventeen year old in high school, and I am drawn to the horror endured at Polish concentration camps, perhaps mostly because I am Polish and knowing that I had relatives who were forced to go... I plan in the future to discover more information and a deeper meaning of my family genealogy at Nazi concentration camps, but for now I continue to study them closely.

(61)
Anonymous,
April 12, 2001 12:00 AM

I found the casulties amazing. It is astonishing that 1 million went and only 2 survived

(60)
Anonymous,
April 8, 2001 12:00 AM

My school is doing a section on WW11, and we learned some about the concentration and death camps. I decided to look up some more info on the Holocaust, and was even more shocked then I was in school. The man who wrote the article I just read said that it was so sad because no one seemed to care. Maybe no one really knows or understands what happened there. My friend, is Jewish. She understands. She remembers all the lessons about it. So why can't we? I think, that if enough people are taught, people will begin to realize, and people WILL begin to care. So thanks to all those people who took the time to research and write. They are doing they're part, so we need to do ours.

(59)
rita t.,
April 7, 2001 12:00 AM

It is very sad when we are reminded of how many precious and innocent lives were destroyed by such hate. A hate, that to the natural mind, just isn't understandable. Each person that lost their lives in a Death Camp, or from the Holocaust, is truly missed. I feel their absents daily. I am sorry for the pain and heartache that so many endured.

(58)
Anonymous,
April 3, 2001 12:00 AM

tragic

I am one person who will not let the dead be forgotten. I am 16 years old and the thought of children dieing over something they were not yet able to understand breaks my heart. My heart is broken that 6 million people died over such a thing as religion. I only wish more of those barbarians had been punished for what they had done, but I guess in the long wrong they got what was coming to them for torturing and killing all those people.God rewarded those who died for loving him. May they all be remembered and may they live on foreve as a guide for loving everyone.

(57)
Rachael Romanski,
March 26, 2001 12:00 AM

I'm german. My grandfather was a jew he died in this camp

(56)
Anonymous,
March 25, 2001 12:00 AM

That's terrible

I've been doing a lot of research for a project on these camps and I could hardly find anything on Belzec. This was very helpful. It's terrible what the Nazis did. How could anyone be so heartless. Thank you for giving me this information. It was very helpful.

(55)
David,
March 20, 2001 12:00 AM

Unbelievable

Between the research I've done on Operation Reinhard and watching Mr. Lanzmann's "Shoah", this is the most that I've ever read regarding Belzec. I thought that there was one prisoner who survived and I remember reading that Jan Karski, a Polish governemnt-in-exile courier has visited there, but I may be wrong. I would like to see better memorials at Belzec, Chelmno and Sobibor. These three seem to have been pushed aside. May ALL victims of the National Socialist atrocities be with God.

(54)
Anonymous,
March 18, 2001 12:00 AM

wow

i was searching for holocaust descriptions when i ran across this page it is sad to think of all the deaths, period, but especially the forgotten ones

(53)
poprincess2009,
March 14, 2001 12:00 AM

how sad

it is horrible what the Nazis did.

(52)
Anonymous,
March 13, 2001 12:00 AM

How sad

this was Really good. I don't know if it was the heart wrenching passion that made this so well written or if they are just that good. Either way this was amazing. I nearly cried. the best part though is that last line i could read it over and over....

(51)
Evangelina Rojo,
March 13, 2001 12:00 AM

People do care it's just hard to talk about it. My friends and I do many projects on the Holocaust.We enjoy it but are saddened on how someone could be so cruel to other human beings.We try to learn as much as we can about it so that it does not happen again. Like they say, "Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it."

(50)
Anonymous .........,
March 8, 2001 12:00 AM

Remembering

I think what you guys have composed here is very well put. We need to remind everyone that the holocaust did happen and that it cannot be forgetten. We cannot just remind people with the sense of horrifying them but so that they remember enough so that this doesn't happen again and to commerorate the people that died during this time. Thank you for such an essay we would rarely find in this day and age.

(49)
jaymi&mandi watchorn&denker,
March 8, 2001 12:00 AM

we liked it!

this was very sad and even though most people don't care - we do! we were just learning about this a month a go and we never knew about the stuff you put in this article.

(48)
Anonymous,
March 8, 2001 12:00 AM

how horrible

I cannot even look at these sites without coming to cry, but I realize if I cry now, being so safe and so healthy, I can't begin to imagine how the people put through the holocaust must have felt! I never realized mankind could turn on his own and be so cruel.

(47)
Anonymous,
March 7, 2001 12:00 AM

Very well put!

I think everybody should know about it so it never happens again.

(46)
Amber lowhorn,
March 7, 2001 12:00 AM

This was a good website.

thanks for the info ! it really helped me in my history class. Thanks Amber Lowhorn

(45)
Anonymous,
March 6, 2001 12:00 AM

God was there watching everyine

I know that there are still people who have nightmares and will never forget what happened. But whatever happens in the future God will take care of us

(44)
Anonymous,
March 3, 2001 12:00 AM

Very well put!

In school we are learning about World War 2. I think that more people should take the time and visite the camps so they get to experence what many people went through.

(43)
Veronica Blake,
February 27, 2001 12:00 AM

very well written...and almost inspiring...very good research material!

this is not only a very good summary but also is a deep explanation of what unfolded in the camp of Belzec.

(42)
karalyn seida,
February 26, 2001 12:00 AM

Someone does care, I

i think what had happend can never be erased, I have been researching the concentration camps ever since I learned how to read, everytime with a tear in my eye, i can only shead tears for thoes that have lost their lives. how can one have so much power over all, Hitler, what a sick bastard!

(41)
christopher roguskie,
February 25, 2001 12:00 AM

i don't quite know what to say

i'm glad to have found this sight, it wasn't really that difficult, i guess, but i'm probably one of a very, very few non-jewish(or maybe even jewish) young americans that will ever hear of a thing called belzec.
in 1995, when i was 22, i saw schindler's list and became obsessed with something i knew nothing really about - the Holocaust. within 3 months i was off to poland (incidentally i am polish-american) to see what actually happened to the jews for myself. i never made it farther than krakow, kasimiersz, plaszow and auschwitz-birkenau. that was enough. i felt really small, stupid, scared and disrespectful walking in auschwitz all alone, at night, afraid(i went in to poland in late november because i had little money and it was dark by 3:30 pm)
i was always interested in belzec and the lack of history of the camp. i was afraid to go there from krakow alone with no money. this short article has told me more than i can remember knowing of the place. perhaps i'll try to visit again. thanks so much

(40)
Emily Merritt,
February 23, 2001 12:00 AM

I think your page was.....

Your page was really helpful. I am doing a report on Belzec and your site was perfect! Thank you for the information and the wonderful web site itself!

(39)
sylwia tatara,
February 19, 2001 12:00 AM

This is really interesting sad but true story and no one should pass like those people did. I am from Poland and I must say what happened is a nightmare for every one until this day.

(38)
Allan Houck,
February 13, 2001 12:00 AM

Forgotten

An old adage states that if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. We must never forget the holocaust or Belzec less somthing like this happens again.

(37)
asa stair,
February 13, 2001 12:00 AM

interesting

I was suprised to learn about the camp because i had never heard about it before in school or anywhere. I am grateful to learn that someone cares enough to learn about stuff of that nature.

(36)
emily whitmire,
February 4, 2001 12:00 AM

This is the saddest story

I think that it would have never happend but it did and it is sad

(35)
Jim Woodrick,
February 1, 2001 12:00 AM

It is important to remember

I am not Jewish and was not born until the 1960s, but I feel it is important to remember the senseless slaughter of millions at these horrible places like Belzec. I just finished watching "Shoah," and was able to see the forests where the Nazis tried to cover their monstrous crimes. Thanks for your efforts and many others like you, their deeds will not be forgotten. And yes, some people DO care very much what happened there.

(34)
Nicole,
January 31, 2001 12:00 AM

good info

I was looking through all the sites and trying to find one that told the real story of what happened during the War and I found all these sites on the concentration camps so I came here to check it out and was disgusted. I can't believe that people could actually do something this cruel to another human being. I am writing an essay on how bad the German camps were and if you have any more info to send, I would appreciate it. Thank you Nicole

(33)
lisa eccard,
January 27, 2001 12:00 AM

The information here is troubleing.

I am not a Jew nor was I alive during WWII, but this war has always bothered me. The fact that no one survived this camp. What is even worse is it is not even remembered by most. People were tortured and killed there. I can't say anymore. How people can do that to other people is the most troubling of all!

(32)
Dan Ortega,
January 16, 2001 12:00 AM

So So Sad!

Now that I unfold what really happened I realize that the Jewish population went through a lot. I feel sorry for them. I will never think twice if I think something was to bad for me because then I think about were the Jewish population having to go through such torture.

Thanks Dan Ortega

(31)
SAUL Benirgun,
January 16, 2001 12:00 AM

Never forget our murdered people ,Never forgive the world as they stood by idle.

I look at our people scattered through the world today.We seem to have dropped our guard against anti semitism,we seem to have grown tired for our fight for Israel.If we can learn anything from the stolen lives of our families and people it is to look at this camp and never let our desire for Israel to remain powerful and strong.
Benirgun

(30)
Samantha Bernstein,
January 15, 2001 12:00 AM

This is terribly sad...

I had to go to these sites to look for information on a project that I had to do on concentration camps. And looking at all the pictures has made me so depressed and I sometimes ponder in thought, what the heck was wrong with those insane Nazis?! I preach to my friends like everyday (I think they are sick of hearing bout it)that we should not forget about the Holocaust and that little people like me and them who remember will make a big difference and that they will never forget that horrible time.. Thank you so much for the information. Hopefully my presentation to the class will be good and that they will understand that they cant forget this.
Thanks,
Samantha Bernstein

(29)
marc rosenblatt,
January 14, 2001 12:00 AM

Thank you for the education.

(28)
nikki well,
January 2, 2001 12:00 AM

oh my goodness

that was soooo sad THAT story made me cry!!!!!!=^(

(27)
Tara Sam,
December 18, 2000 12:00 AM

This probably won't be looked at but if it is then I just want to tell you that atory is the best. It really tears my heart up knowing that this place was a place for death. And that noboby did anything to try and stop it. This is a really good story and you should write more about it and more details so that people will see what really happened. And so that people will see how cruel it was to hurt somebody they don't even know.

(26)
Joel Goldberg,
December 18, 2000 12:00 AM

Great ARticle - read Martin Gilbert's "Holocaust Joourney."

Too many people think that extermination went on in Dachau, Buchenwald, Belsen, etc. These were concentration camps not extermination camps. Only Auschwitz is known to most people. Names such as Belzec, Chelmno, Treblinka, Sobibor and Majdanek remain unknown probably because they were behind the Iron Curtain. Yet it was those 6 camps that saw the greatest tragedy in world history unfold.

(25)
yakov elizerov,
December 15, 2000 12:00 AM

I think this is a very important article that you wrote. before i read your article i did't know that their was even a camp by the name of Belzec that existed. what you just did was very important because you just passed down a sad factual story which had to be done because otherwise the camp would be forgotten and the memories of this event would disapear from the face of the earth.

(24)
,
December 13, 2000 12:00 AM

I was told that I had to do a project on something dealing w/ the literature we have read in my English class. We are reading Night, so I jumped at the chance to do my project on Belzec, because my teacher is not Jewish. I also did it because I want to share with my classmates about what we (as humans) are doing wrong in the societies today. We as Jews should retell the story of the Holocaust to keep it in the minds of all, so we may prevent a second Holocaust. it is our job, since no one else will!

(23)
Angel Johnson,
December 9, 2000 12:00 AM

I just read the book "Night" by Eli Wiesel in my English class. The book is a real wake up call to the horrors of the Holocaust. You know you hear about it on the news and stuff like that but you can't imagine really having horrible stuff like that happen. The scary thing is its all real, it really happened to people. I can't believe that people can be so cruel.

(22)
Anonymous,
November 29, 2000 12:00 AM

Sad!!!!

This is very sad to read about all the things that people just because of what they believe. I thought we were better then that, but it looks like I was wrong. It is sad to know we have people like that in our society.

(21)
robin,
November 29, 2000 12:00 AM

Horrible!

a lot of people my age think im wierd because im interested in the holocaust but i think its im portant for people to under stand the war so it wont happen again. i am a 14 year old who trys to teach everyone about this. all of you who try to make it so we all understand i congradulate you.

(20)
Anonymous,
November 27, 2000 12:00 AM

I am 15 years old and I thought this was a great thing to discover for a project in my World History class. Thank You.

(19)
james sinclair,
November 24, 2000 12:00 AM

excellent really helped me with my project

thought it was very good but maybe a bit more facts and figures

(18)
Anonymous,
November 13, 2000 12:00 AM

Inhumane!

How can one human do something like this to another human just because they havn´t got the same nationality??!
And it´s so sad that Belzec seems to be the most forgotten camp.
How could this happen?!

(17)
Dustin Thatcher,
November 1, 2000 12:00 AM

Awesome

it made me feel like I was there

(16)
Samuel B. Woodward,
October 29, 2000 12:00 AM

comments on Belzec: The Forgotton Camp

Excellent job of getting the story of Belzec out. I had never of heard of heard of this particular death camp. Thank you for time and effort in telling this account of how the Jews suffered there.

(15)
Billy Rutherford,
October 3, 2000 12:00 AM

I have visited Belzec several times and quite frankly i'm raging that no literature to speak of exists on the camp. Surely the victims numbering probably in excess of 1,000,000 deserve some acknowledgement!
Billy.

(14)
john hyder-wilson,
October 3, 2000 12:00 AM

A reflection on the banality of evil

It seems to me that there is something of the pure truth of the holocaust contained in the present day state of belzec. The "banality of evil" lives on epitomised by the casual looting from a site which every person in the world should know about and have seared into their consciousness. Instead it is almost totally forgotten. How can this be? As always, words cannot express the inexpressible - and it is probably just as well.

(13)
Anonymous,
September 8, 2000 12:00 AM

May God Bless them and keep them!

This article made me feel very sad. I have studied the holocaust extensively, or so I thought, and I didn't realize that Belzec was so neglected in both physical upkeep and memory! The mention that some people still destroy the monument looking for money shocks me! Will the world ever learn? The people who were murdered at Belzec deserve better than that!

(12)
SchlojmeAvrohom Zajfman(Antwerp),
May 6, 2000 12:00 AM

I am so in shock since I know that my father's family and most probably part of my mother's father's family have perished there. My father told me that it was known that in the morning they came in and at night they were no longer alive.
It's true that people are not encouraged to go to there. I went to Poland in '91 nnad asked a driver to visit Belzec and he( a jewish Polish driver) told me that there is nothing one can see there, beside the trainrails finishing in woods.
Thank you for this article.

(11)
David Callahan,
May 6, 2000 12:00 AM

excellent

The article was excellent in it's content and managed to give the full horror of what had hapended without being graphic

(10)
Edward Ruvinski,
May 6, 2000 12:00 AM

Making sure we don't forget

The Rabbi of my shule in Melbourne, Australia, read the article to us in full after having asked the children (who normally go out to play during his shiur) specifically to stay. Despite the tears and the memories swelling in the eyes and minds of our older shule members, the Rabbi used the time as an opportunity to help perpetuate the momory of what happened and avoid making the Holocoust become "just" an intellectual exercise.

Based on the silence and the palpability of the atmosphere in the shule when he finished; I believe he succeeded in making sure that it remains something personal.

(9)
,
May 5, 2000 12:00 AM

Thank you for sharing your pilgrimage with us.

My father fought in WWII and always insisted that I watch all of the programs concerning the war so that I might understand the evils and goodness of man. You are so right, I have never heard of Belzec and now, after your article, I will never forget it. Thank you for bringing this place out of the darkness into the light. My heart is breaking for all of the world, may we never forget!

(8)
,
May 4, 2000 12:00 AM

all I can say is that I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of this camp until I read the article... maybe it's me not doing enough research... but it is very saddening to find out that barely 60 years since the horrific attrocities that happened there... already we have forgotten... or maybe we were never told ... regardless we must never forget...
thank you for enlightening us all about a camp that I am sure most of us have never heard of

(7)
Meryl Simon,
May 4, 2000 12:00 AM

How?

I am a participant of the 1998 March of the Living and the 1999 College March of the Living. We went to Treblinka, Terezin, Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Majdanek. But By reading this article I find that nothing touched me in my trip as this may have. To think that there is nothing, and yet everything is a bit on the upsetting side. Remember Not to Foget!!!!

(6)
,
May 4, 2000 12:00 AM

Great article

I would highly recommend this article to everyone. It saddens me to think that there is so much hate in this world....yet there is. I believe that it is important to learn from the past...we must not hide the truth...it must be shared...no matter how much it hurts.

(5)
Reuven Frank,
May 1, 2000 12:00 AM

it's not a question of like the article or not

I am sitting here in tears.
I don't know why. I am a third generation American (now living in Jerusalem with my six Israeli born children.) I have no-one in my family who was directly affected by the Holocaust.
MAybe it was best put into words by a soldier who saw an old man crying near the war memorial in Washington. "One of yours," the soldier asked.
"No son," the old man replied, "All of them."

Did I "like" the article? Yes and No.
No, it hurt too much.
And, Yes, because it's good to feel the hurt sometimes,
lest we forget.
"Earth cover not their blood!"

(4)
Prof. Von Yuel Tyren,
May 1, 2000 12:00 AM

Very good article

I think it's important for the Jewish population to be aware of and remember the horrors of the holocaust to prevent history from repeating itself.

(3)
Rachel Bald,
May 1, 2000 12:00 AM

Needed!!!

Such articles are needed! I don't think i ever heard of Belzec before i read this! Isn't that sad! Our relatives might have been brutally murdered there and we don't even know a/t about it! Horrible! Thanks so much for this informing, sad but truthful article.

(2)
Michel,
April 30, 2000 12:00 AM

A worthy remembrance of a deserted cemetery

I too have visited the camp and came away with the same impression of emptiness. It is profoundly impressive and depressing to see this quiet, isolated patch of land with barely any markers indicating what occurred here. Even more disturbing is its virtual invisibility to the surrounding area. One really has to make an effort to find the entrance of the camp and, upon arriving, discern the layout of the gas chamber, Ukrainian barracks, and multiple mass graves.

I would like to thank the author for highlighting a camp that seems to get little notice. It is imperative for all peoples to work for mutual respect so that camps like this one, and like those in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, don't become the precursors for camps yet to come.

(1)
Todd Holzhausen,
April 30, 2000 12:00 AM

excellent,sad,but moving article.

more people need to know about this. there needs to be more recognition of belzec. very well written article,thanks for educating me about this.

I’ve heard the argument made that Jews should not buy German products, for example Volkswagen cars which used Jewish slave labor during the war. It is wrong for Jews to support German industries?

My cousin says we should just forgive and forget. I would like your thoughts on the subject.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The great rabbi known as the Chazon Ish once said that if a Torah scroll was found burning, and a man used it to light his cigarette, there is no Jewish law that forbids it. Nevertheless, doing so would show a lack of sensitivity. So too, Jewish law does not forbid purchasing a German car.

Regarding the "demand for forgiveness," people often quote the Bible that when one is struck, it is proper to "turn the other cheek" and allow that cheek to be struck as well. But that only appears in the Christian Bible. Jews believe in fighting actively against evil.

Almost all people are inherently good and so we should forgive their lapses. But some people are truly evil – for example, Amalek, the ancient nation which wantonly attacked the Jews leaving Egypt.

Over two millennia ago when Haman (a descendant of Amalek) was commanded by the king to lead his enemy Mordechai through the streets of Shushan, Mordechai was too weak to climb on to the horse. Haman had to stoop to allow Mordechai to use his back as a stepping stool. In the process, Mordechai delivered a vicious kick to Haman which obviously startled him.

Turning to Mordechai in bewilderment, Haman asked: "Does it not say in your Bible, 'Do not rejoice at your enemy's downfall?'" Mordechai responded that indeed it does, but it refers only to people less evil than Haman. So too, we have no reason or allowance to forgive the Nazis and their helpers. Those who scraped the concrete in the gas chambers gasping for air can choose whether to forgive the Germans. We cannot.

In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat addressed the Knesset in Jerusalem. Sadat was the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, after receiving an invitation from Menachem Begin. Sadat had orchestrated the Egyptian attack on Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, but after suffering defeat became resigned to the existence of the State of Israel. Much of the Arab world was outraged by Sadat's visit and his change of strategy. One year later, Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David Peace Agreement, for which they received the Nobel Peace Prize. As part of the deal, Israel withdrew from the Sinai peninsula in phases, returning the entire area to Egypt by 1983.

There are many tasks, jobs, and chores that we will end up
doing whether we really enjoy doing them or not. Many hours of our lives are spent this way. The late Rabbi Chaim Friedlander, of Ponevehz Yeshivah, used to say, "If you are going to do it anyway, do it with joy."

Train a young lad according to his method, so that when he grows older he will not deviate from it (Proverbs 22:6).

He shall not deviate from it - the child will not deviate from the method with which he was taught. That method refers to the way we are taught to adapt to life's many hurdles, struggles, and tests.

Education consists of more than just imparting knowledge; it also means training and preparation in how to deal with life. Knowledge is certainly important, but is by no means the sum total of education.

"A person does not properly grasp a Torah principle unless he errs in it" (Gittin 43b). People usually do not really grasp anything unless they first do it wrong. In fact, the hard way is the way to learn. Children learn to walk by stumbling and picking themselves up; young people learn to adjust to life by stumbling and picking themselves up.

Parents and teachers have ample opportunities to serve as role models for their children and students, to demonstrate how to adapt to mistakes and failures. If we show our children and students only our successes, but conceal our failures from them, we deprive them of the most valuable learning opportunities.

We should not allow our egos to interfere with our roles as educators. Parents and teachers fulfill their obligations when they become role models for real life.

Today I shall...

try to share with others, especially with younger people, how I have overcome and survived my mistakes.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...